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6/11/2026
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Assembly approves bill to set insurance reimbursement floor for youth crisis response services
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STATE HOUSE — The General Assembly today voted to approve legislation from Sen. Alana M. DiMario and Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi to strengthen coverage and reimbursement for mobile youth crisis response teams.
The bill is part of the Senate’s 17-bill package of healthcare legislation.
“Mobile crisis response is an essential component of our state’s healthcare system, and providing insurance coverage for youth mobile crisis response last year was an important step toward ensuring the sustainability of these essential services,” said Senator DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown, New Shoreham), who works as a licensed mental health counselor in private practice. “But without sustainable rates, the nonprofits that provide these essential prevention and diversion programs cannot continue, whether their services are covered or not. This bill gives providers across Rhode Island the consistency and financial stability they need by ensuring that they receive at least the state Medicaid rate for the services they provide.”
Youth mobile crisis response and stabilization services (MRSS) provide trained behavioral health clinicians in response to behavioral health crisis calls, who are better able than local emergency medical services to deescalate crises and provide the crisis counseling and follow-up needed to keep youth out of emergency rooms. This provides better patient outcomes for youth in crisis and reduces the strain on overburdened emergency departments.
“Rhode Island, like the rest of the country, is experiencing a youth behavioral health crisis. Families are struggling to find help when a child is in distress and our emergency rooms are often overwhelmed by behavioral health cases that could be addressed more effectively in the community,” said Representative Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown, Narragansett). “Mobile crisis response services have proven to be one of the most effective solutions we have to this crisis in Rhode Island, providing better care for children and their families while saving insurers and the state money. Despite its success, the current system has a structural problem. Medicaid is carrying the financial burden of these services because commercial insurers are not reimbursing at the same sustainable rates as Medicaid. By setting a payment floor for these services, this legislation will stabilize a system that we know works.”
The Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services began a MRSS pilot program in November 2022, during which 92% of youth were stabilized and diverted from local emergency departments.
Medicaid now covers youth MRSS in Rhode Island, and last year Senator DiMario successfully passed legislation to require private insurers to do the same. However, reimbursement rates provided by private insurers since then are often too low to sustainably fund MRSS programs.
The legislation (2026-S 3065A, 2026-H 7630A) sets a reimbursement floor by requiring private insurers to reimburse youth MRSS services at no lower than the prevailing Medicaid rate set by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
It would also expand youth eligibility from 18 up to 21 years old.
The legislation received unanimously supportive testimony in committee, including from the Washington County Coalition for Children, who wrote “By requiring commercial insurers to cover MRSS and reimburse providers at no less than the Medicaid rate, this bill creates parity across payers and prevents the burden of funding these essential services from falling disproportionately on Medicaid and state resources. Without this alignment, providers cannot sustain the staffing and infrastructure required to deliver 24/7 mobile crisis response.”
The legislation now goes to the governor for his consideration.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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